Why Jack White’s Lazaretto “Ultra LP” Is Awesome

White pushes vinyl to its limit for second solo LP

It’s just a matter of time before Jack White drops his second solo record, entitled Lazaretto. Considering the former Record Store Day Ambassador’s last album, Blunderbuss, made it onto our Top 50 Albums of 2012 list, we here at the Blog are excited for this forthcoming LP, to say the least.

It’s worth mentioning the “Record Store Day Ambassador” title and “LP” tag in that last statement because White has officially announced a full-scale operation leading up to the release of Lazaretto on vinyl.

One version of the record, which will be released as part of Third Man Records’ Vault Collection, features the album on one-disc, blue and white split-colored vinyl with an alternate album cover. However, another version, dubbed the “Ultra LP,” will be completely different from any vinyl you’ll find in record stores, and White has made sure to pull out all the stops to ensure you need to pre-order and/or buy this vinyl edition immediately.

Check out the video below detailing this unique and certainly outlandish piece of music media.

As you’ve just witnessed, this “Ultra LP” is awesome. Sure, it’s gimmicky and plays off almost like an April Fool’s joke, but coming from the same guy who drives a record-making pop-up truck and holds the record for “World’s Fastest Released Record,” it’s easy to love White’s music geekdom (hence why we love him so much).

Here’s a quick, readable run-down of what this release offers:

180 gram vinyl

2 vinyl-only hidden tracks hidden beneath the center labels

1 hidden track plays at 78 RPM and 1 plays at 45 RPM, making this a 3-speed record

Side A plays from the outside in

Dual-groove technology: plays an electric or acoustic intro for “Just One Drink” depending on where the needle is dropped. The grooves meet for the body of the song.

Matte finish on Side B, giving the appearance of an un-played 78 RPM record

Both sides end with locked grooves

Vinyl pressed in seldom-used flat-edged format

Dead wax area on Side A contains a hand-etched hologram by Tristan Duke of Infinity Light Science, the first of its kind on a vinyl record

Absolutely zero compression used during recording, mixing, and mastering

Different running order from the CD/digital version

Utilization of some mixes that are different from those used on CD/digital versions

If that’s not enough to get you excited for this release, I don’t know what would be. Pre-orders of the “Ultra LP” are being taken over at Third Man Records website right now. You can bet I’ve already ordered mine.